Giripan Headcanon
by Corporal-Nihon
Summary: Kiku only likes salted food, unless? Also, did he and Herakles dance together? And what about their first meeting? Series of short headcanons of mine, or sort of. Do not forget my lover's name is Review.
1. Chapter 1

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Hi! Second fiction in English! So this is about my headcanons for Giripan, more or less… I hope you'll like it! It is not really structured, so I hope it won't bother the reading. Also, human names used!

Kiku = Japan; Herakles = Greece (you don't say?); Elizavetha = Hungary; Gilbert=Prussia; Feliciano = North Italy; Ludwig = Germany. In fact, I find it very cold to use nation's names, I can't get used to it.

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**Honey**

Kiku usually is very fond of salted food. In fact, it would be more appropriate to say that he puts salt in whatever he eats or cooks. And so, the first time Herakles offered to cook something for him, Kiku was at first mortified when he saw him pouring honey on the meat ; he swore at that time he was about to cry. But when Herakles, with this light –and oh so charming- smile of him, put the plate before him, Kiku kept his composure and grabbed the fork with shaky hands (he was a Japanese man! He could endure that for the sake of the Greek's pretty eyes!), before picking a piece of the grilled meat and…

What did you expect? It was delicious, of course!

Kiku immediately felt guilty about the fact he had had doubts on Herakles, and gladly resumed eating before saying smiling at the Greek man:

"Delicious."

Herakles grinned. Kiku really looked cute all the time, even with honey on the chin.

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**Sing**

He was already red like his own flag from head to toes. Kiku can really get nervous sometimes, Herakles noticed, before he put a reassuring hand on the little man's shoulder.

"Hum… Why do I have to do that in the first place…?"

Herakles sighed.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but it'll be alright, don't you think so?"

Kiku just turned his gaze away. Still, it was… Quite embarrassing. They entered the building and Elizavetha, looking really hysterical, greeted them, squealing and giggling as if she'd just seen Gilbert performing belly dancing with a sole frying pan covering his vital regions (ugh…weird). She led them to the studio upstairs. Kiku and Herakles waited a bit while she was blabbering about Feliciano's performance, and how he looked cute with Ludwig's shirt on… Wait, what? Nothing important, after all, it was Feliciano. Then Kiku's name was called and he entered slowly. Herakles smiled, seated comfortably as the sound engineer gave the signal for Kiku to start singing.

And Kiku began. Herakles could hear every single world from the other side of the room and, really, there was nothing to fear. As he lifted his eyes to his lover, he could see him giving all he had in the song, a sweet melody flooding through his slightly open mouth, and his eyes half-closed, looking dreamy. Besides, Kiku's voice was deep but soft and reassuring, every world he pronounced getting lighter by reaching the barrier of his lips, rolling over his tongue.

_Excuse me, I am sorry_. That was an interesting thing for him to sing, uh? So… Kiku-like?

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**Dance**

Oh, Herakles surely could dance. In fact, he could dance almost everything on any music, and even had contests with Sadik. He was very comfortable with moving his body freely (if you know what I mean) and had no trouble dancing in front of other people.

This was not exactly Kiku's case. It was mostly the contrary. He had learnt dances from his own country but in comparison to the ones people were used to today, it looked quite deviant. But somehow Herakles had offered to dance with him (with puppy eyes, I must say) and Kiku had foolishly accepted. He feared that Herakles would lead him to some weird nightclub to do… exotic dances, but the taller man simply turned music on and reached for his hand.

_Let's dance_. That was the title of the song. Kiku sure had heard it before, but he had never really made an attempt of dancing or whatever. It was a bit odd to hear but he had to admit that it was paced and lively, even though he would never have dared moving an inch while listening before.

But as Herakles took his hand in his larger one, Kiku felt himself finding a rhythm, moving along with his lover, hesitantly at first. Soon, they were swaying through the entire room eyes locked, feet shuffling, hips moving and finally giving themselves to the song, before the inquiring look of the cats around –but Herakles swore he saw them moving a little-. The song ended and it left Kiku panting a bit. It wasn't that difficult, was it?

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**Meeting**

It was around 1890, if Kiku recalls correctly. As he was trying to hide a bit from those excited Europeans and Americans, his boss came right into his dark room and shouted at the top of his voice:

"NIHOOOON ! More ships have come! It's from Europe!"

Kami-sama, why? But again, as a Japanese man, Kiku had to greet his "guests" properly. Grrr. He arranged his hair a bit, made sure his clothes were in place and headed to the harbor. He hoped that they wouldn't be as rude as Portugal, or not as flippant as the Netherlands, and please –please- not as loud as America.

He finally reached the harbor along with his boss, trying to keep calm features on his face. He was immediately stricken by the huge ship attending the coast. And Kiku saw him.

He was very tall in comparison to him, but he could see that he was still young as an adult. He was quite thin, because he hadn't the muscled frame he had yet. From this distance, Kiku found his attitude mostly inappropriate, by the way he stood not really straight. But after further thoughts, he guessed it was because he had grown up very quickly, and that was the case. Then, he came closer. At that moment, his face recalled Kiku the one of the angels he had seen on European paintings. The way his curly hair framed his tanned face made his green eyes stand out just perfe… Wait, what was he thinking? It's a man we're talking about.

Kiku regained some composure before he stepped forward to greet the man. The said one bowed deeply.

"K… Konnichiwa, Japan. I am Herakles Karpusi, known as the country of Greece. Pleased to meet you."

Kiku stayed silent. That accent… It was cute, wasn't it? Then he recalled he was still on planet Earth.

"Aah… Uhm, it's a pleasure, Greece. My name is Honda Kiku. Your… Your Japanese accent is lovely.

-Thank you, he blushed. They're talking a lot about your language, in Europe, you know? Oh, and well, I'm sorry I came without telling you, but there was no way for me to do that, and you…

-It's all right, Greece-san.

-Ah? San?

-Oh, it's true, you haven't heard about it, I suppose… Well, come to rest at my house, I'll explain it all."

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Done (at least for the first chapter, they may be others)! I just wanted to write light-hearted things, and also, for further information:

*I think there is lot of honey in Greek food, but honey fits with anything. Try to cook meat with it (not too long, cause it might burn, uh), it's delicious :D. And taste baklava too. It's GOOD. In fact, Herakles is really a great cook, isn't he?

*The song Kiku is recording, "Excuse me, I am sorry", is performed by Hiroshi Takanashi for Japan's character song CD. It is really easy to find on the Internet, along with "Hi no Izuru kuni, Zipangu".

*Kiku and Herakles are listening to "Let's dance", by David Bowie (it is not very original, but well). Really GREAT song ; you should buy the album. All of them.

*Kiku and Herakles started dating in 1899! For me, though. In fact, Greece and Japan started diplomatic relations in June 1899, but I just found it cute…


	2. Chapter 2

GIRIPAN HEADCANONS II

Pandatryoshka asked me to make more, so I just agreed (yes, I'm a very simple girl). Here is, after a long time, a new chapter!

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**BUSY LINE**

_Duuuuuuu…_

_Duuuuuuu…_

_Duuuuuuu…_

Shit, busy line. Kiku was a very patient man. And a very complicated one when it came to love. So when you mix the two, well you got a very impatient Kiku waiting for his lover Herakles to pick up the phone.

_Come on, Hera-kun, why don't you pick up the line? I'm worried, right now…_

_Are you sick?_

A mini heart attack went through him. Hera-kun had been a bit down recently, because of his boss, his economics, et caetera… But what if he was really sick now? Kiku paled at the thought. Poor Herakles, he thought, home stuck and crushed by fever, half naked because of the heat… What the f**ck, brain?

_Duuuuuuu…_

Hera-kun, you said one day you had never seen me mad, didn't you? Well now is the right time, because if you don't pick up…

He sighed, because once again, no one picked up.

Maybe he's having a nap? Or worse… He maybe with someone else!

Kiku began to feel the anger bubbling up inside him, and he clutched the phone nervously with both hands. He wandered about the room impatiently, looking for Tama, who was, even being a cat, pretty much aware his master was going to enter in the Godzilla-Kiku mode, and thus preferred to hide somewhere in the house out of his range. But really, what if Hera-kun was with someone else? He began to think he hadn't been a good boyfriend for him, that he had been too distant –but it wasn't his fault if he was so shy!- and that he hadn't shown enough affection to Herakles' liking, and now he was definitely going to be alone all his life, and he was going to lose his dear Hera-kun, and what would he do then, and…

"Hello? Kiku?"

Said person was in the middle of dying from the surprise, and he was trying to regain composure and say something, what could he do now…?

"Kiku, are you alright? What did you want to tell me about?

-Eh? Ah! Well, nothing, I just wanted to chat…"

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**HAIR**

Herakles is a heavy sleeper: that is no news. It only allows Kiku, in the morning, to run drowsily his hands through Herakles' thick hair.

It is really curly, but surprisingly, it would never get tangled, even when Kiku would repeatedly work his finger through the messy strands. Curly hair has always held an exotic feeling in Kiku's mind, and Greece is the perfect example of what he calls an exotic country.

The color is amazing too. It isn't blond, nor it is dark, it's just a chestnut color melted with rare golden reflects. Kiku once saw some of Italy's painting and… it's like the color of the little angels' hair, he decided.

It smells good too. And whenever Kiku would scoop close to smell it, only then, Herakles would wake up (though he was pretty much awake the whole time).

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That was short! But I had no other idea… Sorry… I deserve to die… And to be buried in bullshit… Well, I enjoyed writing this anyway.


	3. Chapter 3

**SLEEPING BEAUTY**

Sometimes, as he laid down on the cushions spread across his small bedroom in Ottoman's palace, Herakles liked to peek out through the thin window under the roof, where the ceiling was really low. And then, ignoring the expand of the busy streets of Constantinople –now Istanbul, though- that seemed to never end, looking even beyond the mountains in the horizon, he liked to recall the tale of Sleeping beauty that France told him sometimes.

Trapped here for what appeared like forever, waiting for liberty, he figured someone would fetch him in this castle, free him from the curse that was imprisonment and fly away with him.

However, this isn't exactly how it happened. He had to free himself from Ottoman on his own first, and then, unable to satisfy his thirst for adventure, Herakles decided to see something different from Europe and went overseas.

Because over there was another sleeping beauty, also known as Japan –Honda Kiku, he would learn about that some time after- who'd been waiting for the charming prince for about two hundred years (well, that was half less than him but it didn't matter), and the idea of being someone's prince pleased Herakles to the point he didn't mind the gender of the princess anymore: he found out that the princess was a man, but after all, he had himself tried a few things with the masculine gender before and that wasn't a big deal (he found his own experiences great, to tell the truth, but that isn't the point).

The end may be different too. For Kiku was in complete denial at first, Herakles was really bold for a charming prince and their story was everything but a fairy tale.

But in the end, and that only mattered, it was worth it, really.

CLEANING HABITS

Kiku, and that wasn't news, had always had maniacal cleaning habits, whether being in his house or in other's. His house was thus sparkling clean all the time, but he would insist on cleaning again even so, to the point he had become literally allergic to dust. Cleaning, making space, moving things, reorganizing would keep him in shape and form a good occupation during lonely days. Not to mention the satisfaction of a well-done job in the end.

So you would wonder, of course, _why_ on earth did he fall for a messy, carefree, unorganized man like Herakles, of all people. Well, the answer is pretty basic. First, it was like a way out. Even if he's always reluctant, Herakles would find a way for Kiku to relax, and it in most of the cases ended well. That was one of Herakles' strong points; a simple, soothing gesture, whispering sweet words tickling Kiku's ear in the most pleasurable way, and Kiku would forget anything about work, cleaning, duties and various chores, and if Herakles kept going, Kiku would forget even his very own name.

On the other hand, Kiku would always be busy with him: fold a shirt, brush away bits of food that stayed on the corner of his lips, cut his hair when the other simply forgot to do it, discard cat hair on his clothes, to the point he would even shave him on certain mornings.

And of course Herakles wouldn't mind, because it showed how much the two did rely on each other.

Another two headcanons. You know guys, it's so hard to find a theme… Then I end up writing nonsense again, sigh…


	4. Chapter 4

This is a request made by QuickSilverFox3 for the theme "Flowers". Sorry about the long wait, QuickSilverFox3, but I couldn't find the time to write. Here it is, anyway. Hope you'll find it great!

FLOWERS

After a world meeting, in a restaurant, Kiku would sometimes wait a bit for his always late lover. Then said man would show himself up, hair askew and suit messy, but with a bunch of flowers in his left hand (Kiku had noticed after some time that Herakles was left-handed), and he would rush over to the table, quickly make excuses up, and Kiku knew he hadn't had troubles to park, for Herakles didn't bring his car in America where the meetings took place. But then, with both hands, he would give Kiku the flowers. Blue ones, small ones.

_"I'm sorry about this."_

Kiku knew it also, that Herakles was very featherbrained, which would often lead him to forget that he had to go home in the early morning. And sometimes Kiku would wake up finding the bed cold and empty next to him. He would, of course, feel a little offended, despite knowing that Herakles has his reasons. But still, he tries to forget it, do some cleaning around the house, cook something nice, and then, he would spot flowers nicely arranged on the table, and he knows immediately. White ones, beautiful ones.

"_See you soon, love."_

If Kiku ever felt sad, which was often the case when feeling lonely, and then he would call his lover and talk about it for a long time, before deciding he was too tired and sometimes falling asleep to the sound of Hera-kun's low, comforting voice. And in the late night, he would feel something shift in his bed behind him, something warm, and he would know who it was when the man circled his waist with his arm, holding a single flower in his hand, a red one, a rose.

"_I'll be always there to love you."_

You can send me requests anytime. They must be Giripan-related, and I don't want to write something gore. That's it!


	5. Chapter 5

These two are for you, K-chan, if you read this. I didn't manage to fulfill everything, but I've put my heart in those one shots. Read it and enjoy it! It was a pleasure writing them, do not hesitate to ask for more.

**FIRST –AND ONLY- LOVE**

Herakles. _Herakles_.

Kiku made this name roll on his tongue absented mindedly while wandering near his house in the early morning. The day before, another stranger from the West had arrived. He was a nation who called himself Greece. Of course, Kiku had heard of him but this was the first time the nation in person had stepped on his land, the first time he had seen him. And he hadn't been disappointed.

The night before, they had a meal together, just the two of them, two nations introducing each other. Kiku had been mortified at the simple idea of spending more than a couple of minutes alone in the same room with a stranger (or anyone, in fact, he was just that shy).

But he quickly changed his mind when he saw Greece, the man, not the nation, without the intimidating people around him, having removed his overcoat and uncovering the simple white shirt he was wearing, with a strange Christian cross hanging over it; he saw his green eyes that seemed in the end more peaceful than he had first thought. He saw his messy chestnut brown hair, and he even dared smiling when he saw a fluffy white cat jumping out from behind him, though Greece didn't seem to notice.

Greece sure knew how to make people comfortable. He introduced himself, and began talking fondly about his culture, gesturing slowly at each sentence. Now, Kiku found himself growing more and more curious about the man, and he even began to wonder what his name was. But of course, he wouldn't know, because they were nations, and they weren't supposed to tell each other's name, though Kiku didn't know why: he remembered Yao telling him it was forbidden, but that was it.

"What about you, then? I'm not here to talk about myself, after all."

Kiku paused, having not exactly expected this. He looked up to Greece, but thinking it would be rude to meet his gaze, he quickly looked down, reddening and fidgeting. His "talking" skills definitely wouldn't help. He took a deep breath, not sure what to answer, nor what to do.

"I'm Kiku."

Greece stared at him agape, dumbfounded. Kiku did not want to look, afraid that he had made a mistake. He felt his heart race and he was most certainly on the verge of fainting.

"I'm Herakles."

Kiku jumped and quickly looked up to Herakles, for the first time looking at him straight in the eyes. Herakles was smiling warmly, laughing silently. Kiku delicately covered his mouth with his hand and laughed quietly, looking on the side.

"Nice to meet you, Herakles.

-It's my pleasure, Kiku."

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Kiku remembered the night before. Herakles was somewhat different from the others from the West. He couldn't figure exactly how Herakles had managed to inspire him that kind of sympathy. Maybe because he was not too straightforward, because he was quiet and friendly.

"Herakles." Kiku pronounced his name again, as if the man was actually there next to him, as if he had known him for centuries. Kiku had found Herakles' accent charming, and Kiku's name suddenly found his name lovelier that it had ever been. In fact, telling each other their names had been a real thrill. It was like he had given this man, _Herakles,_ his most important treasure, something that he had hidden for centuries, that he had given to him in just one night.

What had gotten into him? So strange… Maybe… Kiku felt that maybe Herakles was the one. He didn't know how to say it, but Herakles would be for sure the one who'd know every single part of him, who would finally hatch his shell and… It gave him a sudden vertigo to think about this all.

After all, he couldn't have imagined that it would take almost 2500 years to find his first –and only- love.

**PARTS OF HIM**

Herakles loves Kiku.

He loves it when he blushes.

He loves it when he tries to make someone understand that it's a "no" answer.

He loves it when he's focused.

He loves his silly gadgets.

He loves his expression when he's determined.

He loves the look on his face when he's about to come.

He loves it when Kiku's shy, even after all this time.

He loves Kiku's cooking.

He loves Kiku's deep eyes, so different from his own.

He loves it when he's serious.

He loves Kiku's soft and white skin.

And he loves it when Kiku dares initiating the kiss, for a change.

Kiku loves Herakles.

He loves his bright, joyous eyes.

He loves it when he tells him tales from his mother.

He loves it when he's sleeping soundly.

He loves it when he's humming songs he's heard on the radio.

He loves it when he frowns slightly while working.

He loves the weight of his naked body on his own.

He loves it when he manages to break through his defenses.

He loves it when Herakles is speaking Greek.

He loves his smile.

He loves the way he plays the harp.

He loves his broad chest.

And he loves it when he's there on time, for a change.

Oh… Yes, in my headcanon, Herakles is playing the harp, which isn't very manly, but I thought it resembled the lyre, and because there's a very good Greek harp player I heard of, and because I play the harp myself blahblahblah.

So, I'm sorry I didn't write any confession or first kiss, but the trouble here is that for me, they kind of confessed to each other around the time in the manga when they first made love (yes they _had_ sex, I can't doubt this) and oops, if I just spoiled you this part of the comic, then feel free to read it, I think your fangirl (boy?) mind will be satisfied: . ?grc2

But well, it's not really clear in my head, and I had never really thought about it… Sorry, maybe I'll try in the future.

Again, feel free to send me request through reviews (but you can review this story for other reasons *wink*).


	6. Chapter 6

K-chan, this is your request! I hope you'll like it! I had fun writing this one. If you don't like it, please tell me and do not hesitate to ask for another headcanon.

**SICK DAY**

Herakles always has a hard time getting out of bed. But this time, it's more than difficult: it's impossible. Like a hundred of cats were resting each of his limbs.

_Atchoo!_

It made Athena, one of his cats, who had the misfortune to wander in his room at the moment, jump and rush outside. After a moment, she poked her head through the opening left by the half-closed door and Herakles gave her a sorry look. The cat then jumped on the bed and approached him slowly. She rubbed her nose against Herakles' forehead, which was burning hot.

"Don't, Athena, you'll catch my cold."

The cat shot him a look that said something like "Silly you, you can't contaminate me like that, you're a nation and I'm a cat, remember?"

But then again, Herakles did often forget he was not a cat.

Then it would be a boring day. Staying in bed was maybe what he believed he was doing best, but being sick is annoying. Then the front door opened. It would either be a burglar, or Kiku. The latter option would definitely be best, but Herakles didn't really have the strength to go downstairs and check. He simply decided to wait. The visitor was climbing upstairs and opened the bedroom's door.

"Hera-kun!"

Hell yeah. Kiku was extremely worried and when he saw Herakles lying pale and half dead on the bed, he hurried towards him.

"Hera-kun, are you alright? I've been worried about you."

Herakles simply took Kiku's hand, still cold from the outside, in his burning one, and played with his fingers. He muttered a thank you. Kiku narrowed his eyes and looked around the room. Then he turned his head towards Herakles again, frowning.

"Have you seen the mess you live in?" Herakles shivered. Things wouldn't go all too good, after all.

Kiku began to rush to the window. He opened it wildly.

"Come on! It's so cold…

-Shall I remind you, Hera-kun, that we're in Greece? It's never cold."

Herakles simply buried himself under the covers, growling. Kiku was not piling up the dirty laundry scattered around the room and began afterwards to dust of the furniture. Herakles smiled. Of course, he wasn't sick because of the mess, and Kiku knew that it was because of his bad economy, but he thanked him for not mentioning it and instead make as if it was a simple matter of cleaning. It may also have been an excuse to tidy up.

Then Kiku sighed, proud that he had made this room finally clean, a bundle of laundry under his arm and a broomstick in the other. He went downstairs. Herakles watched in amusement as the little man stormed out of the room.

After around half an hour, Kiku was back in the room, holding a tray with two fuming bowls on it. He put it on the bed and sat down elegantly, then put a light kiss on Herakles' forehead.

"Open your mouth, he ordered.

-Wha…? Too late, his mouth was already stuffed with a spoonful of warm soup."

Kiku giggled while Herakles finished his mouthful. Latter one smiled warmly. They kept on eating like this, until Herakles thought that they could have much more interesting business than just eating. He neared Kiku's face and, sliding a hand through the other's hair; he closed the gap between them and kissed him. Eagerly, he snaked both hands under Kiku's shirt, though the little man was pushing him away weakly.

"W… Wait! Weren't you supposed to be sick?

-I am, he answered while nipping his neck.

-But..."

Herakles silenced him with a finger on his lips.

"How about playing doctor, then?"


	7. Chapter 7

**MAID AND HOUSEWIFE**

They came back at Herakles' after a very useless and boring world meeting. They opened the door on a freshly cleaned leaving room. The smell of detergent lingered in the air, and Kiku could almost see his reflection on the sparkling floor.

"Did someone break into your house, Hera-kun?

-Well… No, I don't think so… Why do you ask?

-I've never seen your house so clean before, unless I've done the work. And you know well that I was in America with you.

-Oh, about that… It must be the neighbor. She does the cleaning when I'm not home.

-What? Kiku said, bewildered."

Kiku was not pleased at all. He began to breathe heavily and pace around the room nervously, gesturing with his hands in an attempt to say something intelligible. His face flushed harshly, as if he was trying to spit out something stuck in his throat.

"I can't… I can't believe it… You… actually trust someone else for this? I thought… I thought you needed me." He dropped his bag on the floor with a muffled thud. "How could you?"

While Herakles tried to think of a worthy answer, they heard footsteps down the stairs.

"Γεια σου, Ηρακλῆς."

Herakles looked up to the woman, maybe to escape Kiku's furious glance.

"Γεια σου. »

The woman then looked down to Kiku and switched to English.

"Oh, Hello" She began with a clumsy accent. "You must be… Honda Kiku, right?

-Well, yes, Kiku answered defiantly.

-I suppose you've been here before I was, uh? I didn't have much work to do; the house was so clean when I got there! Herakles often tells me how you always take good care of the house…"

Kiku glanced at Herakles, blushed and quickly avoided his eyes, mumbling something that sounded like: "Well thank you that must be true."

The woman chuckled and she exchanged a few words in Greek with Herakles before she left, greeting the two of them. Kiku looked genuinely embarrassed now, flushing furiously and looking the other way, thinking about how stupid he had been to get angry.

From that day on, Kiku would never question his n°1 housewife rank ever.

Sorry, K-chan, I really didn't have any inspiration for this one, so I took a long time, and the result is a bit lame… But anyway, this is it.


	8. Chapter 8

DRAWING

The men Kiku draws, in Herakles' point of view, are too delicate, too slim, too long-haired. They have thick eyelashes and sparkles in their eyes. They have perfectly glossy lips, not at all chapped like Herakles' sometimes are. They are all pale, perfectly white, with the tiniest blush when required. Herakles is tanned. He's tanned because he has, for a long time, worked in the fields bathed in the bright sunlight. Because he swims in the transparent waters of the sea. Because he drives boats a lot.

Herakles is nothing like the men in Kiku's drawings. He wonder whether he does or does not fit in Kiku's kind of men. Kiku has noticed, of course, because Herakles would always sulk whenever he would show him those kinds of artworks. One day, Kiku asks:

"What's wrong, Hera-kun? You're sulking."

"Am not..." The tall Greek grumbles.

"Definitely are." Kiku's knowing eyes are too much for Herakles so that he can't lie to his little lover any more.

"It's just... Well... Are these... Your ideal kind of men?"

Kiku has this knowing smile too, and, closing his eyes, he chuckles to himself.

"I see. Well, follow me."

His thin hand takes Herakles' large one.

"Wait, where are we.."

Kiku puts a finger on Herakles' mouth and he steps forwards, dragging Herakles through the corridor leading to his bedroom. However, when they pass the bedroom by, Herakles can't help but feel a little disappointed, and they enter a nearby, unknown room. Kiku turns the lights on and, without hesitation, as if he did it everyday, he goes straight to a shelf in the back and drags a cardboard box out of it. He puts it on the floor and opens it ceremoniously. There are at least a hundred drawings in this box. Kiku spreads them all over the floor, for Herakles to see.

Herakles sees rough lines and shapes. There is only one subject, always the same: square jaw, green eyes and a manly face softened by chestnut, curly hair. On some of them, Kiku's added a light brown for the skin.

And Herakles knows he's looking at himself. Some of the drawings are close-ups, where his green, beautiful eyes stand out sharply, wide and bright, and his lips are full, shadowed by a thick line of ink and a bit chapped at the bottom. On some of them he's in the nude, looking intense and sensual, and Herakles knows by the reality of them that Kiku was inspired by treasured moments. A hundred different expressions, that he easily recognises as his, some of them he didn't even know he could have, like the way he arches his left eyebrow when thoughtful or surprised. On every sheet of paper, some older than others, he is drawn lovingly, with extreme care, or sometimes just drafted.

"I've been drawing them ever since I met you. There are about three other boxes, but the drawings inside are a bit worn out. These are the most recent."

He smiled a bit self-consciously at Herakles, who made a half-smile back. Kiku lowered his eyes then cocked his head, looking at the inside of the box.

"Uh? There is one left at the bottom..."

He delicatedly picked up the tiny sheet of paper. Herakles saw the drawing.

He and Kiku walking hand in hand, under an umbrella, kissing.


	9. Chapter 9

Booklover's request! It is most certainly not my best, I think, I'm sorry, but I'm really lame at writing dates, because it can be quite awkward and everything, so... enjoy, anyway.

**DATE**

That day Kiku was showing Herakles around a festival in the city. Herakles was staying for some time over summer and Kiku decided that, instead of snogging around all day long –like they both usually enjoyed to do-, he would show a traditional festival to Herakles, who, for once, woke up earlier than usual because of the intense heat and humidity Japanese summer can bring.

They took the subway, even holding hands once in the empty train (because at this time of the day, there was no way anyone was taking the subway, even old Yamashita-san, who seemed to compete with Kiku to see who would wake earlier everyday). The ride bore one of these comfortable silences only the two of them could share, Herakles sometimes noiselessly nuzzling into Kiku's neck before quickly moving back again, not wanting to bother Kiku with his body heat. The train stopped at their station and Herakles, once again, marvelled at the little jingle that instantly played (there was a different one at every station, so that he would always get enthusiastic about that, to which Kiku smiled kindly like you would do to a young child.

The heat was of course overbearing, but both Kiku and Herakles had seen worse and they felt quite at ease in this weather. The nearer they got to the festival, the more people there were in the streets. Herakles looked like a strange overgrown plant, moving through the crowd and being way taller than average (even on European standards).

They wandered around hand in hand (at least when there wasn't much people around) and Kiku explaining things to Herakles. People offered to taste food, sometimes Kiku told Herakles to accept it, sometimes Kiku told him not to mind because he himself hated the food in question.

In one stand, there were strange little crystal spheres, hanging by a thin rope, whose metal appendage made a chiming sound when caught in the breeze.

"What are these?" Herakles asked.

"They're called_ Fûrin_. It means "wind chime", in fact. You put it for example in front of your house. I quite like the noise it makes, it's relaxing."

"You have one at home with a white cat painted in it."

"Yes I do like it a lot."

"This one with the two birds is cute too..."

"This one? Wait..."

Kiku neared the seller and began to talk in Japanese, until the man came near Herakles and unhooked the _fûrin_ with the birds.

"Wait, don't..." Herakles said, but Kiku merely dismissed it with a wave of his small white hand.

He thanked the seller and Herakles bowed too, and they left the stand.

"You shouldn't have, really..." Herakles began, embarrassed.

"It's my pleasure, Hera-kun" Kiku said. "Besides, I quite enjoy the idea of you having a _fûrin_ at your place, it's as if..." he blushed a bit and looked in the distance "even from far away, were somehow connected. And the chiming sound is the same, so that I'll think about you when it rings..."

Herakles smiled and kissed the side of Kiku's head.

"Thank you, love."

"Here, you can pick up an omen at the temple."

"Alright, how is it done?"

"Well, please move forwards…"

Herakles moved to the altar and looked around curiously. He took a light hold of the coloured rope that hung in front of him.

"Is this Japan's god?"

Kiku chuckled, not to loudly not to offend Herakles.

"It's a tool to invoke them." He said with a patient voice, the one he used for children who played football too loudly down in the streets. "Put in your monetary offering then invoke them."

Herakles sighed and smiled to himself, pulling a few coins out of his pocket and throwing them into the altar.

"If you don't have money, the gods won't act, huh... These gods are pretty human, aren't they?" He looked sideways at Kiku with a teasing half-smile.

"Yes, they are" Kiku said tensely. "Um, when you've finished the invocation, make your wish."

Herakles pulled on the rope so that the bell rang deeply, two times. Then, like Japan showed him, he puts his two hands together and closed his eyes to make his wish. He paused for a little while.

"Wh... What's the matter?"

Herakles' brows furrowed and Kiku could see he was struggling with himself.

"By that, does it mean it's okay to wish for Turkey's death?" He asked tentatively.

"Please express it more mildly." Kiku deadpanned. Herakles laughed.

"Now, Hera-kun, pick-up your omen, I want to see what you got."

Herakles picked up a thin sheet of paper from the shelf and looked, puzzled, because his level in Japanese obviously didn't allow him to understand any of the words written on his predicament.

"Now let me read." Kiku smiled before Herakles' confusion.

He picked the paper from Herakles' hands and began to read. After a few seconds, he burst out of laughter, his hand politely covering his mouth.

"What's the matter?" Herakles asked, torn between amusement, half laughter, confusion and anticipation.

"Let me read, it says:

'HORRIBLE OMEN.

You could not get a worse day. Whatever you're doing this day you're going to miss. If you have an exam or an important meeting, don't go, or it will get worse. You're very likely to catch a disease or break several things. Fortunately, it will get better and better every day from now on.'"

Herakles had his hand over his mouth, half-laughing, half-horrified by the omen. Kiku gave him his omen back.

"You have to tie it on one of the ropes over there, see? There are a lot of small papers tied there. You do this to cancel the bad omen."

Herakles folded the paper in a small roll, flattened it and made a clean knot on one of the white ropes, next to several little white knots, and Kiku took the better of the situation and took a picture of Herakles standing in profile, tying his omen.

"Well..." He said at last. "It's not too bad for the worse day I could have... So... How could it get better and better?"

"Uh, about that, I was thinking about tonight..."

There it is! Maybe you recognised some of the last little scene as a part of the comic. Well, I also got the exact same "Horrible Omen" like Hera-kun, but I must say that it was one of the best days of my entire life, spending it with my two Japanese friends (who also told me about fûrin, I have, in fact, one at home), and day by day, it keeps getting better. So I'm alright.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I must thank you for all the reviews, it's my most popular story so far, and you've been all very (too much) nice and encouraging. Thanks a lot! I shall remind you that constructive comments and suggestions for new themes are most welcome.


End file.
